O Cruzeiro de 1996 foi campeão da Copa do Brasil, vencendo o Palmeiras na final. O título deu ao clube a vaga na Libertadores de 1997, que ele conquistou.
Cruzeiro 1996
The 1996 Cruzeiro squad was the team that won the Brazil Cup that year, with victory over Palmeiras in the final. The title secured a spot in the 1997 Copa Libertadores, which the club went on to conquer.
History
Founded in 1921 in Belo Horizonte, Cruzeiro arrived at 1996 as one of the great clubs in the country. Owner of titles such as the Brazil Cup of 1966, it had already won the Brazil Cup in 1993 and was experiencing a phase of national prominence. The 1996 edition of the Brazil Cup was disputed in two-legged knockout matches, a format in which Cruzeiro proved competitive. The team advanced to the final and faced Palmeiras, one of the strongest teams in the country that season. Cruzeiro won the final and became champion of the Brazil Cup in 1996, the club's second title in the competition, after the one in 1993. The conquest had an immediate reward: the Brazil Cup champion guaranteed a spot in the following Copa Libertadores. In 1997, Cruzeiro conquered South America for the first time, and the 1996 team is remembered as the starting point of this continental journey.